ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία τινὲς ὑποτυγχάνοντες οὐκ ἐπὶ παντὶ θανάτῳ τὰ πένθη δεῖν οἴονται γίγνεσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀώροις, διὰ τὸ μηδενὸς τετυχηκέναι τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ νενομισμένων ἀγαθῶν, οἷον γάμου παιδείας τελειότητος πολιτείας ἀρχῶν (ταῦτα γὰρ εἶναι τὰ λυποῦντα μάλιστα τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀώροις ἀτυχοῦντας, διὰ τὸ ἀφῃρῆσθαι πρὸ τοῦ δέοντος τῆς ἐλπίδος), ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι ὁ ἄωρος θάνατος ὡς πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν οὐδὲν διαφέρει. καθάπερ γὰρ τῆς εἰς κοινὴν πατρίδα πορείας προκειμένης πᾶσιν ἀναγκαίας καὶ ἀπαραιτήτου οἱ μὲν προπορεύονται οἱ δʼ ἐπακολουθοῦσι, πάντες δʼ ἐπὶ ταὐτὸν ἔρχονται, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῶν εἰς τὸ χρεὼν ὁδευόντων οὐδὲν πλέον ἔχοντες, τυγχάνουσιν οἱ βραδύτερον ἀφικνούμενοι τῶν θᾶττον παραγιγνομένων. εἴ γε μὴν ὁ ἄωρος θάνατος κακόν ἐστιν, ἀωρότατος ἂν εἴη ὁ τῶν νηπίων καὶ παίδων καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ὁ τῶν ἄρτι γεγονότων. ἀλλὰ τοὺς τούτων θανάτους ῥᾳδίως φέρομεν καὶ εὐθύμως, τοὺς δὲ τῶν ἤδη προβεβηκότων δυσχερῶς καὶ πενθικῶς· διὰ τὸν ἐκ ματαίων ἐλπίδων ἀναπλασμόν, ἤδη νομιζόντων ἡμῶν βεβαίαν ἔχειν τὴν τῶν τηλικούτων διαμονήν. εἰ δʼ ὁ τῆς ζωῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων χρόνος εἰκοσαέτης ἦν, τὸν πεντεκαιδεκαέτη ἀπογενόμενον ἐνομίζομεν ἂν μηκέτʼ ἄωρον τελευτᾶν ἀλλʼ ἤδη μέτρον ἡλικίας ἔχοντα ἱκανόν· τὸν δὲ τὴν τῶν εἴκοσιν ἐτῶν προθεσμίαν ἐκπληρώσαντα ἢ τὸν ἐγγὺς γενόμενον τοῦ τῶν εἴκοσιν ἐτῶν ἀριθμοῦ πάντως ἂν ἐμακαρίζομεν ὡς εὐδαιμονέστατον καὶ τελειότατον διαπεράσαντα βίον. εἰ δὲ διακοσίων ἐτῶν ἦν, τὸν ἑκατὸν ἐτῶν τελευτήσαντα πάντως ἂν ἄωρον νομίζοντες εἶναι πρὸς ὀδυρμοὺς καὶ θρήνους ἐτραπόμεθα.
And, by Jove, we meet with some persons who affirm that the death of every one is not to be lamented, but only of those who die untimely; for they have not tasted of those things which we call enjoyments in the world, as a nuptial bed, proficiency in learning, the coming up to an height in any thing, the honor of magistracy and charges in the government. It is for the sake of these things that we condole with those who lose friends by untimely death, because they were frustrated of their hopes; but in the meanwhile we are ignorant that a sudden death doth not at all differ from any other, considering the condition of human nature. For as when a journey is enjoined into a remote country, and there is a necessity for every one to undertake it, and none hath liberty to refuse, though some go before and others follow, yet all must arrive at the same stage at last; so when we all lie under an obligation of discharging the same debt, it is not material whether we pay sooner or later. But if any one’s death may be called untimely, and consequently an evil, that appellation suits only with that of children and infants, and especially of those who are newly born. But this we bear steadfastly and with patience; but when those that are grown up die, we take on heavily, because we fondly hoped that when their years were full blown they would then have an uninterrupted state of health. Now if the age of man were limited to the space of twenty years, we should not think that he who had arrived to fifteen died an untimely death, but that he had filled up a just measure of living; but one that had attained twenty, or at least had approached very near it, we should applaud for his good fortune, as if he had enjoyed the most happy and perfect life in the world. So if life were prolonged to two hundred years as its fixed period, and any one died at a hundred, we should howl over him as if he had been hastily cut off.
δῆλον οὖν ὅτι καὶ ὁ λεγόμενος; ἄωρος θάνατος εὐπαραμύθητός ἐστι διά τε ταῦτα καὶ τὰ προειρημένα ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν. μεῖον γὰρ ὄντως ἐδάκρυσε Τρωίλος ἢ Πρίαμος, κἂν Πρίαμος αὐτός, εἰ προετελεύτησεν ἔτʼ ἀκμαζούσης αὐτῷ τῆς βασιλείας καὶ τῆς τοσαύτης τύχης ἣν ἐθρήνει. οἷα γοῦν πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ διελέχθη υἱὸν Ἕκτορα, παραινῶν ἀναχωρεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Ἀχιλλέα μάχης, ἐν οἷς φησιν ἀλλʼ εἰσέρχεο τεῖχος, ἐμὸν τέκος, ὄφρα σαώσῃς / Τρῶας καὶ Τρῳάς, μηδὲ μέγα κῦδος ὀρέξῃς / Πηλεΐδῃ, αὐτὸς δὲ φίλης αἰῶνος ἀμερθῇς; / πρὸς δʼ ἐμὲ τὸν δύστηνον ἔτι φρονέοντʼ ἐλέησον, / δύσμορον, ὃν ῥα πατὴρ Κρονίδης ἐπὶ γήραος / οὐδῷ / αἴσῃ ἐν ἀργαλέῃ φθίσει, κακὰ πόλλʼ ἐπιδόντα, / υἷάς τʼ ὀλλυμένους, ἑλκηθείσας τε θύγατρας, / καὶ θαλάμους κεραϊζομένους, καὶ νήπια τέκνα / βαλλόμενα ποτὶ γαίῃ, ἐν αἰνῇ δηϊοτῆτι, / ἑλκομένας τε νυοὺς ὀλοῇς ὑπὸ χερσὶν Ἀχαιῶν. / αὐτὸν δʼ ἂν πύματόν με κύνες πρώτῃσι θύρῃσι / ὠμησταὶ ἐρύωσιν, ἐπεὶ κέ τις ὀξέι χαλκῷ / τύψας ἠὲ βαλὼν ῥεθέων ἐκ θυμὸν ἕληται. / ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ πολιόν τε κάρη πολιόν τε γένειον / αἰδῶ τʼ αἰσχύνωσι κύνες, κταμένοιο γέροντος, / τοῦτο δὴ οἴκτιστον πέλεται δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσιν. / ἦ ῥʼ ὁ γέρων πολιὰς δʼ ἄρʼ ἀνὰ τρίχας ἕλκετο / χερσί, / τίλλων ἐκ κεφαλῆς, οὐδʼ Ἕκτορι θυμὸν ἔπειθεν. / Ὄντων οὖν σοι παμπόλλων παραδειγμάτων περὶ τούτων ἐννοήθητι τὸν θάνατον οὐκ ὀλίγους ἀπαλλάττειν μεγάλων καὶ χαλεπῶν κακῶν, ὧν, εἰ ἐπεβίωσαν, πάντως ἂν ἐπειράθησαν. ἃ φειδόμενος τῆς τοῦ λόγου συμμετρίας παρέλιπον, ἀρκεσθεὶς τοῖς εἰρημένοις πρὸς τὸ μὴ δεῖν πέρα τοῦ φυσικοῦ καὶ μετρίου πρὸς ἄπρακτα πένθη καὶ θρήνους ἀγεννεῖς ἐκτρέπεσθαι.
It is manifest then, by what hath been said now and what hath been mentioned before, that the death we call untimely is capable of consolation; and the saying is true, that Troilus wept less than Priam, perishing as he did in his youth, while his father’s kingdom flourished and his riches abounded, which Priam afterwards laments as most deplorably lost. For observe what he saith to his son Hector, when he entreats him to decline the battle he was going to fight against Achilles:— Yet shun Achilles! enter yet the wall; / And spare thyself, thy father, spare us all! / Save thy clear life; or, if a soul so brave / Neglect that thought, thy dearer glory save. / Pity, while yet I live, these silver hairs; / While yet thy father feels the woes he bears, / Yet curst with sense! a wretch whom in his rage / All trembling on the verge of helpless age / Great Jove has placed, sad spectacle of pain! / The bitter dregs of Fortune’s cup to drain: / To fill with scenes of death his closing eyes, / And number all his days by miseries! / My heroes slain, my bridal bed o’erturn’d, / My daughters ravish’d, and my city burn’d, / My bleeding infants dash’d against the floor; / These I have yet to see, perhaps yet more! / Perhaps even I, reserved by angry Fate, / The last sad relic of my ruin’d state, / (Dire pomp of sovereign wretchedness!) must fall, / And stain the pavement of my regal hall; / Where famish’d dogs, late guardians of my door, / Shall lick their mangled master’s spatter’d gore. / But when the Fates, in fulness of their rage, / Spurn the hoar head of unresisting age, / In dust the reverend lineaments deform, / And pour to dogs the life-blood scarcely warm: / This, this is misery! the last, the worst, / That man can feel,—man, fated to be cursed! / He said, and acting what no words can say, / Rent from his head the silver locks away. / With him the mournful mother bears a part; / Yet all her sorrows turn not Hector’s heart. /
Having then so many examples of this kind before thine eyes, thou oughtest to make thyself sensible that not a few have been saved by death from those calamities they would certainly have fallen into had they lived longer. Contenting myself with those I have related already, I will omit the rest, that I may not seem tedious; and these are sufficient to show that we ought not to abandon ourselves to violent sorrow, beyond temper and the bounds of nature.
τὸ γὰρ μὴ διʼ αὑτὸν κακῶς πράττειν ὁ μὲν Κράντωρ φησὶν οὐ μικρὸν εἶναι κούφισμα πρὸς τὰς τύχας, ἐγὼ δʼ ἂν εἴποιμι φάρμακον ἀλυπίας εἶναι μέγιστον. τὸ δὲ φιλεῖν τὸν μεταλλάξαντα καὶ στέργειν οὐκ ἐν τῷ λυπεῖν ἑαυτούς ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ τὸν ἀγαπώμενον ὠφελεῖν ὠφέλεια δʼ ἐστὶ τοῖς ἀφῃρημένοις ἡ διὰ τῆς ἀγαθῆς μνήμης τιμή. οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ἄξιος θρήνων ἀλλʼ ὕμνων καὶ παιάνων, οὐδὲ πένθους ἀλλὰ μνήμης; εὐκλεοῦς, οὐδὲ δακρύων ἐπωδύνων ἀλλʼ ἐτείων ἀπαρχῶν, εἴ γʼ ὁ μετηλλαχὼς θειότερόν τινα βίον μετείληφεν, ἀπαλλαγεὶς τῆς τοῦ σώματος λατρείας καὶ τῶν ἀτρύτων τούτων φροντίδων τε καὶ συμφορῶν, ἃς ἀνάγκη τοὺς εἰληχότας τὸν θνητὸν βίον ὑπομένειν, ἕως ἂν ἐκπλήσωσι τὸν ἐπικλωσθέντα τῆς ζωῆς βίον, ὃν ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ἡ φύσις οὐκ εἰς ἅπαντα τὸν χρόνον, ἀλλὰ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἀπένειμε τὸν μερισθέντα κατὰ τοὺς τῆς εἱμαρμένης νόμους.
Crantor saith, To be innocent is the greatest comfort in afflictions. I assent to him, and affirm that it is the noblest remedy. Besides, the indication of our love to the deceased consists not in grieving ourselves for him, but in paying respect to his fame by honorable remembrance. For no good man deserves elegies, but panegyrics; and we should rather celebrate his loss by an honorable remembrance, than lament it; and offer up rather first-fruits of joy to the Gods, and not tears which sorrow extorts from us. For he who ceaseth to be amongst men becomes partaker of a divine life, is free from the servitude of the body, and all those solicitous cares which they who are embarrassed with a mortal life of necessity must undergo till they have finished the course which Providence hath marked out for them; and this life Nature hath not given us as a perpetual possession, but hath clogged it with restrictions and conditions of fate.
διὸ τοὺς εὖ φρονοῦντας ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀποθνῄσκουσιν οὐ χρὴ πέρα τοῦ φυσικοῦ καὶ μετρίου τῆς περὶ τὴν τύχην λύπης εἰς ἄπρακτα καὶ βαρβαρικὰ πένθη παρεκτρέπεσθαι καὶ τοῦθʼ ὅπερ πολλοῖς ἤδη συνέβη περιμένειν, ὥστε πρὶν ἀπώσασθαι τὰ πένθη κακουχουμένους τελευτῆσαι τὸν βίον καὶ ἐν τοῖς πενθίμοις τῆς κακοδαίμονος ταφῆς μεταλαβεῖν, ἅμα τῶν τε ἀνιαρῶν καὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἀλογιστίας κακῶν συγκηδευομένων αὐτοῖς, ὥστʼ ἐπιφθέγξασθαι τὸ Ὁμηρικὸν μυρομένοισι δὲ τοῖσι μέλας ἐπὶ ἕσπερος ἦλθε. / διὸ καὶ πολλάκις αὑτοῖς προσδιαλέγεσθαι χρὴ τί δέ; παυσόμεθά ποτε λυπούμενοι ἢ ἀκαταπαύστῳ συμφορᾷ συνεσόμεθα μέχρι παντὸς τοῦ βίου; τὸ γὰρ δὴ ἀτελεύτητον νομίζειν τὸ πένθος ἀνοίας ἐστὶν ἐσχάτης, καίτοι γʼ ὁρῶντας ὡς καὶ οἱ βαρυλυπότατοι καὶ πολυπενθέστατοι πραότατοι γίγνονται πολλάκις ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου, καὶ ἐν οἷς ἐδυσχέραινον σφόδρα μνήμασιν ἀνοιμώζοντες καὶ στερνοτυπούμενοι λαμπρὰς εὐωχίας συνίστανται μετὰ μουσουργῶν καὶ τῆς ἄλλης διαχύσεως. μεμηνότος οὖν ἐστι τὸ οὕτως ὑπολαμβάνειν παράμονον ἕξειν τὸ πένθος. ἀλλʼ εἰ λογίζοινθʼ ὅτι παύσεταί τινος γενομένου, προσαναλογίσαιντʼ ἂν χρόνου δηλαδή τι ποιήσαντος· τὸ μὲν γὰρ γεγενημένον οὐδὲ θεῷ δυνατόν ἐστι ποιῆσαι ἀγένητον. οὐκοῦν τὸ νῦν παρʼ ἐλπίδα συμβεβηκὸς καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν δόξαν ἔδειξε τὸ εἰωθὸς περὶ πολλοὺς γίγνεσθαι διʼ αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων. τί οὖν; ἆρά γʼ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο διὰ τοῦ λόγου μαθεῖν οὐ δυνάμεθα οὐδʼ ἐπιλογίσασθαι, ὅτι πλείη μὲν γαῖα κακῶν, πλείη δὲ θάλασσα καὶ τὰ τοιάδε θνητοῖσι κακὰ κακῶν / ἀμφί τε κῆρες εἰλεῦνται, κενεὴ δʼ εἴσδυσις οὐδʼ / αἰθέρι; /
Those therefore who are the masters of their reason ought not to be transported by the death of friends beyond the limits of nature and a just moderation unto unprofitable and barbarous complaints, and so wait till that comes upon them which hath happened to many, to have their vital moisture exhausted before their tears, and to be carried to their own graves in those mourning weeds they put on for others, where their sorrow must lie buried with those evils they provoked upon themselves by their own imprudence. To whom that of Homer may be appositely applied:— Whilst others they lament with weeping eyes, / The darkness of the night doth them surprise. /
Wherefore in this case we should often thus reason with ourselves: Shall we put an end to our sorrow, or shall we grieve all the days of our life? To make it infinite is the last degree of infatuation; for we have seen those who have been in the deepest circumstances of dejection to be so mitigated by time, that they have banqueted upon those tombs which before they could not endure the sight of without screeching out and beating their breasts, but which they can now dance round with music and all the postures of jollity. Therefore to be obstinate in our grief is the resolution of madness. If then thou hast purposed within thyself that it shall have an end, join this consideration with it, that time will assuage it too; for what is once done even the Deity himself cannot unravel; therefore that which hath happened to us beyond our hope and contrary to our opinion hath palpably shown us what is wont from the same causes to befall others. What’s the result then? Cannot any discipline teach us, nor cannot we reason with ourselves, that— The earth with evils doth abound; / As many in the sea are found? / And thus likewise:— The Fates have so encompassed men with ills, / That even the wind can find no entrance? /
πολλοῖς γὰρ καὶ σοφοῖς ἀνδράσιν, ὥς φησι Κράντωρ, οὐ νῦν ἀλλὰ πάλαι κέκλαυσται τἀνθρώπινα, τιμωρίαν ἡγουμένοις εἶναι τὸν βίον καὶ ἀρχὴν τὸ γενέσθαι ἄνθρωπον συμφορὰν τὴν μεγίστην τοῦτο δέ φησιν Ἀριστοτέλης καὶ τὸν Σειληνὸν συλληφθέντα τῷ Μίδᾳ ἀποφήνασθαι. βέλτιον δʼ αὐτὰς τὰς τοῦ φιλοσόφου λέξεις παραθέσθαι. φησὶ δὴ ἐν τῷ Εὐδήμῳ ἐπιγραφομένῳ ἢ Περὶ ψυχῆς ταυτί. διόπερ, ὦ κράτιστε πάντων καὶ μακαριστότατε, πρὸς τῷ μακαρίους καὶ εὐδαίμονας εἶναι τοὺς τετελευτηκότας νομίζειν καὶ τὸ ψεύσασθαί τι κατʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ βλασφημεῖν οὐχ ὅσιον ὡς κατὰ βελτιόνων ἡγούμεθα καὶ κρειττόνων ἤδη γεγονότων. καὶ ταῦθʼ οὕτως ἀρχαῖα καὶ παλαιὰ παρʼ ἡμῖν, ὥστε τὸ παράπαν οὐδεὶς οἶδεν οὔτε τοῦ χρόνου τὴν ἀρχὴν οὔτε τὸν θέντα πρῶτον, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἄπειρον αἰῶνα διατελεῖ νενομισμένα. πρὸς δὲ δὴ τούτοις διὰ στόματος ὂν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὁρᾷς καὶ ἐκ πολλῶν ἐτῶν περιφέρεται θρυλούμενον. τί τοῦτʼ; ἔφη. κἀκεῖνος ὑπολαβών ὡς ἄρα μὴ γενέσθαι μέν ἔφη ἄριστον πάντων, τὸ δὲ τεθνάναι τοῦ ζῆν ἐστι κρεῖττον. καὶ πολλοῖς· οὕτω παρὰ τοῦ δαιμονίου μεμαρτύρηται. τοῦτο μὲν ἐκείνῳ τῷ Μίδᾳ λέγουσι δήπου μετὰ τὴν θήραν ὡς ἔλαβε τὸν Σειληνὸν διερωτῶντι καὶ πυνθανομένῳ τί ποτʼ ἐστὶ τὸ βέλτιστον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ τί τὸ πάντων αἱρετώτατον, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον οὐδὲν ἐθέλειν εἰπεῖν ἀλλὰ σιωπᾶν ἀρρήκτως· ἐπειδὴ δέ ποτε μόγις πᾶσαν μηχανὴν μηχανώμενος προσηγάγετο φθέγξασθαί τι πρὸς αὐτόν, οὕτως ἀναγκαζόμενον εἰπεῖν δαίμονος ἐπιπόνου καὶ τύχης χαλεπῆς ἐφήμερον σπέρμα, τί με βιάζεσθε λέγειν ἅ ὑμῖν ἄρειον μὴ γνῶναι; μετʼ ἀγνοίας γὰρ τῶν οἰκείων κακῶν ἀλυπότατος ὁ βίος. ἀνθρώποις δὲ πάμπαν οὐκ ἔστι γενέσθαι τὸ πάντων ἄριστον οὐδὲ μετασχεῖν τῆς τοῦ βελτίστου φύσεως (ἄριστον ἄρα πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι)· τὸ μέντοι μετὰ τοῦτο καὶ πρῶτον τῶν ἀνθρώπῳ ἀνυστῶν, δεύτερον δέ, τὸ γενομένους ἀποθανεῖν ὡς τάχιστα. δῆλον οὖν ὡς οὔσης κρείττονος τῆς ἐν τῷ τεθνάναι διαγωγῆς ἢ τῆς ἐν τῷ ζῆν, οὕτως ἀπεφήνατο μυρία δʼ ἐπὶ μυρίοις ἄν τις ἔχοι τοιαῦτα παρατίθεσθαι πρὸς ταὐτὸ κεφάλαιον· ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον μακρηγορεῖν.
For many, as Crantor tells us, and those very wise men, not now but long ago have deplored the condition of human nature, esteeming life a punishment, and to be born a man the highest pitch of calamity; this, Aristotle tells us, Silenus declared when he was brought captive to Midas. I think it best to quote the expressions of the philosopher himself, in his book entitled Eudemus, or Of the Soul, wherein he speaks after this manner:—
Wherefore, thou best and happiest of mankind, if we think those blessed and happy who have departed this life, then it is not only unlawful but even blasphemy to speak any thing that is false or contumelious of them, since they are now changed into a better and more refined nature. And this my opinion is so old, that the original and author of it is utterly unknown; but it hath been derived down to us even from eternity, so established is the truth of it. Besides, thou seest what is so familiar in men’s mouths, and hath been for many years a trite expression. What is that, saith he? He answered him: It is best not to be born at all; and next to that, it is more eligible to die than to live; and this is confirmed even by divine testimony. Pertinently to this they say that Midas, after hunting, asked his captive Silenus somewhat urgently, what was the most desirable thing amongst men. At first he would return no answer, but was obstinately silent. At last, when Midas would not give over importuning him, he broke out into these words, though very unwillingly: Thou seed of an evil genius and precarious offspring of hard fortune, whose life is but for a day, why dost thou compel me to tell thee those things it is better thou wert ignorant of? For those live the least disturbed who know not their misfortunes; but for men, the best for them is not to be born at all, nor to be made partakers of the most excellent nature; not to be is best for both sexes. This should have the first place in our choice; and the next to this is, when we are born, to die as soon as we can. It is plain therefore, that he declared the condition of the dead to be better than that of the living.
I could bring millions of examples to justify this topic, but I will not be long.
οὐ χρὴ οὖν τοὺς ἀποθνήσκοντας νέους θρηνεῖν ὅτι τῶν ἐν τῷ μακρῷ βίῳ νομιζομένων ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστέρηνται· τοῦτο γὰρ ἄδηλον, ὡς πολλάκις εἴπομεν, εἴτʼ ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστερημένοι τυγχάνουσιν εἴτε κακῶν· πολλῷ γὰρ πλείονα τὰ κακά. καὶ τὰ μὲν μόγις καὶ διὰ πολλῶν φροντίδων κτώμεθα, τὰ δὲ κακὰ πάνυ ῥᾳδίως στρογγύλα γὰρ εἶναί φασι ταῦτα καὶ συνεχῆ καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα φερόμενα κατὰ πολλὰς αἰτίας, τὰ δʼ ἀγαθὰ διεχῆ τε καὶ δυσκόλως συνερχόμενα πρὸς αὐτοῖς τοῦ βίου τοῖς τέρμασιν. ἐπιλελησμένοις οὖν ἐοίκαμεν ὅτι οὐ μόνον, ὥς φησιν Εὐριπίδης, τὰ χρήματα οὐκ ἴδια κέκτηνται βροτοί, ἀλλʼ ἁπλῶς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων οὐδέν. διὸ καὶ ἐπὶ πάντων λέγειν χρὴ τὰ τῶν θεῶν δʼ ἔχοντες ἐπιμελούμεθα. / ὅταν δὲ χρῄζωσʼ αὔτʼ ἀφαιροῦνται πάλιν. / οὐ δεῖ οὖν δυσφορεῖν, ἐὰν ἃ ἔχρησαν ἡμῖν πρὸς ὀλίγον, ταῦτʼ ἀπαιτῶσιν οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ τραπεζῖται, καθάπερ εἰώθαμεν λέγειν πολλάκις, ἀπαιτούμενοι τὰ θέματα δυσχεραίνουσιν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποδόσει, ἐάνπερ εὐγνωμονῶσι. πρὸς γὰρ τοὺς οὐκ εὐμαρῶς ἀποδιδόντας εἰκότως ἄν τις εἴποι ἐπελάθου ὅτι ταῦτʼ ἔλαβες ἐπὶ τῷ ἀποδοῦναι; τοῦτο δὴ τοῖς θνητοῖς ἅπασι συμβέβηκεν. ἔχομεν γὰρ τὸ ζῆν ὥσπερ παρὰ καταθεμένοις θεοῖς ἐξ ἀνάγκης, καὶ τούτου χρόνος οὐδείς ἐστιν ὡρισμένος τῆς ἀποδόσεως, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τοῖς τραπεζίταις τῆς τῶν θεμάτων, ἀλλʼ ἄδηλον πόθʼ ὁ δοὺς ἀπαιτήσει. ὁ οὖν ἢ αὐτὸς μέλλων ἀποθνήσκειν ἢ τέκνων ἀποθανόντων ὑπεραγανακτῶν πῶς οὐ καταφανῶς ἐπιλέλησται ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπός ἐστι καὶ τὰ τέκνα θνητὰ ἐγέννησεν; οὐ γάρ ἐστι φρένας ἔχοντος ἀνθρώπου ἀγνοεῖν ὅτι ὁ ἄνθρωπος ζῷόν ἐστι θνητόν, οὐδʼ ὅτι γέγονεν εἰς τὸ ἀποθανεῖν. εἰ γοῦν ἡ Νιόβη κατὰ τοὺς μύθους πρόχειρον εἶχε τὴν ὑπόληψιν ταύτην ὅτι καὶ ἡ θαλέθοντι βίῳ / βλάσταις τε τέκνων βριθομένα γλυκερὸν / φάος ὁρῶσα / τελευτήσει, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἐδυσχέραινεν ὡς καὶ τὸ ζῆν ἐθέλειν ἐκλιπεῖν διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς συμφορᾶς, καὶ τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπικαλεῖσθαι ἀνάρπαστον αὐτὴν γενέσθαι πρὸς ἀπώλειαν τὴν χαλεπωτάτην. δύʼ ἐστὶ τῶν Δελφικῶν γραμμάτων τὰ μάλιστʼ ἀναγκαιότατα πρὸς τὸν βίον, τὸ γνῶθι σαυτὸν καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν· ἐκ τούτων γὰρ ἤρτηται καὶ τἄλλα πάντα. ταῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ἀλλήλοις συνῳδὰ καὶ σύμφωνα, καὶ διὰ θατέρου θάτερον ἔοικε δηλοῦσθαι κατὰ δύναμιν. ἔν τε γὰρ τῷ γιγνώσκειν ἑαυτὸν· περιέχεται τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὸ γιγνώσκειν ἑαυτόν. διὸ καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτου φησὶν ὁ Ἴων οὕτως τὸ γνῶθι σαυτὸν τοῦτʼ ἔπος μὲν οὐ μέγα, / ἔργον δʼ ὅσον Ζεὺς μόνος· ἐπίσταται θεῶν, / ὁ δὲ Πίνδαρος σοφοὶ δέ φησὶ καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν ἔπος αἴνησαν / περισσῶς /
We are not therefore to lament those who die in the bloom of their years, as if they were spoiled of things which we call enjoyments in a longer life; for it is uncertain, as we have often said, whether they are deprived of good or evil, for the evil in the world far exceeds the good. The good we obtain hardly and with anxious endeavor, but the evil easily befalls us; for they say evils are linked together, and by a mutual dependence of causes follow one another, but the good lie scattered and disjoined, and with great difficulty are brought within the compass of our life. Therefore we seem to have forgot our condition; for not only is it true, as Euripides hath it, that The things we do possess are not our own; / but in general no man can claim a strict propriety in any thing he hath:— When Gods do riches lend, it is but just / That when they please we should resign our trust. / We ought not therefore to take it amiss if they demand those things which they lent us only for a small time; for even your common brokers, unless they are unjust, will not be displeased if they are called upon to refund their pawns, and if one of them is not altogether so ready to deliver them, thou mayst say to him without any injury, Hast thou forgot that thou receivedst them upon the condition to restore them? The same parity of reason holds amongst all men. The Gods have put life into our hands by a fatal necessity, and there is no prefixed time when what is so deposited will be required of us, as the brokers know not when their pawns will be demanded. If therefore any one is angry when he is dying himself, or resents the death of his children, is it not very plain, that he hath forgot that he himself is a man and that he hath begotten children as frail as himself? For a man that is in his wits cannot be ignorant that he is a mortal creature, and born to this very end that he must die. If Niobe, as it is in the fable, had had this sentence always at hand, that she must at length die, and could not In the ever-flowering bloom of youth remain, / Nor loaded with children, like a fruitful tree, / Behold the sun’s sweet light,— / she would never have sunk to such a degree of desperation as to desire to throw off her life to ease the burthen of her sorrow, and call upon the Gods to hurry her into the utmost destruction. There are two sentences inscribed upon the Delphic oracle, hugely accommodated to the usages of man’s life, KNOW THYSELF, and NOTHING TOO MUCH; and upon these all other precepts depend. And they themselves accord and harmonize with each other, and each seems to illustrate the energy of the other; for in Know thyself is included Nothing too much; and so again in the latter is comprised Know thyself. And Ion hath spoken of it thus:— This sentence, Know thyself, is but a word; / But only Jove himself could do the thing. / And thus Pindar:— This sentence briet, Do nothing to excess, / Wise men have always praised exceedingly. /
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